Thursday – July 28, 2016
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God is so very good, in fact he is infinitely beyond good, and it is His very nature. He is looking for any legal criteria to be good to someone. God will not break His own laws but He will take them to the max to be good not just to His people but all people. One way or another every person on the planet is experiencing the goodness of God. They are alive and have opportunity to choose Him as Savior and have eternity in the Kingdom of God which is hands down better than the other deal.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV)
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Bible hope is not like natural hope. In the natural what we hope for may or may not come to pass, it is fraught with anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. On the other hand Bible hope is a promise of God and a future certainty. That hope, a promise of God, is brought to pass by faith fueled by love as led of the Spirit. We possess the promises of God by faith, fueled by love, led of the Spirit, and not in the sweet by and by but right here in this life. The promise not occurring in this life is our hope of eternal life and an incorruptible body which occurs at the catching away/resurrection.
John 3:15-16 (KJV)
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
1 Corinthians 15:53 (KJV)
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Now back to our study of the book of Colossians.
Colossians 3:22-23 (KJV)
22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
The Apostle Paul by the leadership of the Holy Spirit is instructing the folks of Colossae and Laodicea who were servants and as we shall soon see those who are masters as to the proper Godly relationship between the two. The servants are to obey all lawful orders. When they hear the order they are to do it without questioning the master. The servant is to obey the master in all things related to the flesh or earthly things. Remember these are not servants by choice although their choices may have gotten them into this circumstance. In any event, God’s instruction is do it with all sincerity as unto the Lord Himself. To have a singleness of heart is to have the same motivation concerning the master and the Lord. Let’s look at a different Bible Translation.
Colossians 3:22 (GW)
22 Slaves, always obey your earthly masters. Don’t obey them only while you’re being watched, as if you merely wanted to please people. Be sincere in your motives out of respect for your real master.
The real master is the Lord however with the Lord it is servitude by choice, an exercise of free-will. They are to be sincere to please the master and to please the Lord. It is no different for us in a secular job, we must work with our whole heart to please the boss and most of all to please the Lord. Ultimately we are working for the Lord not for the man passing out the paycheck.
Colossians 3:23-25 (KJV)
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
Our reward here in the earth from our earthly masters whether they be people of God or not is quite temporal. However our obedience by our own choice before the Lord has eternal reward in the Kingdom of God. Notice the final verse of chapter three. There is a significant downside for disobedience concerning our earthly masters whether we are subject to them of our own will or not.
By Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
